City-Youth Empowerment Project (CYEP) is a university-wide service learning project established in 2005 to mobilise university’s students in community participation. The project collaborates with NGOs and organises both regular and one-off services to serve the needy groups.
Homeless Outreach Population Estimation (HOPE) was once organised in 2013 by CYEP in collaboration with three NGOs. Upon receiving the 2014 UGC Teaching Award, Dr Elaine AU, Associate Professor in Department of Applied Social Sciences, formed a joint-university platform of service-learning and expanded the scope of HOPE in order to benefit students in their learning and bring community impacts on homeless social issues.
On 29 October 2015, a joint force constituted by City University of Hong Kong, Lingnan University, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, The University of Hong Kong, Christian Concern For The Homeless Association, Salvation Army, Society for Community Organization (SoCO), and St James’ Settlement will conduct a city-wide homeless street count. About 360 volunteers (nearly 40 of them are team leaders) from six universities will be assigned to different districts to conduct questionnaires and a head count on the homeless in order to explore more on their living conditions and the barriers that prohibit them to be housed. The accurate numbers and information collected will enable community organisations to lobby for appropriate and effective resources as well as policy changes on both individual and systemic levels to help the homeless get out of such destitution.
Students are encouraged to join this meaningful project with some related activities as follows.
Important Dates:
9 – 10 October 2015 – Experiential Training for team leaders – A Night on the Street
12, 15 October 2015 – Training Workshops for team leaders
16 October 2015 – Kick-off Ceremony cum Training Workshop II
22 – 23 October 2015 – Nights visits organized by NGOs
29 October 2015 – Headcount Night
For more background of HOPE, you may visit the website: http://www.cityu.edu.hk/youeprj/hopehk2015.htm
